UFC on FUEL TV 2 results: James Head dazes then submits Papy Abedi

http://mmajunkie.comSTOCKHOLM – While he was credited with a submission victory, it was James Head’s striking that set up the win.

The American middleweight got his first UFC victory by dazing and then tapping out Congolese fighter Papy Abedi, who now calls Sweden home.

The UFC on FUEL TV 2 bout took place at Stockholm’s Ericsson Globe Arena. It concluded the Facebook-streamed preliminary card, which preceded the night’s FUEL TV-televised main card.

After some early exchanges, Abedi forced an early takedown and landed some punches, but Head got back to his feet. The fighters traded some power punches, but Head took the lead with knees and punches from the clinch before dazing Abedi with elbows and punches to the side of the head. Head then forced the fight to the mat, took Abedi’s back, and got the rear-naked choke moments later.

While Head clearly did damage with the final standup exchanges, a clearly dazed Abedi essentially gave up his back and struggled little before tapping out.

The stoppage came at the 4:33 mark of the opening round.

“The last thing my niece told me before I left was, ‘When you mess with the bull, you get the horns,'” Head said. “And that’s what we did tonight.”

Head (8-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who suffered a decision loss to Nick Ring in his promotional debut, is now 3-1 over his past four fights. Abedi (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC), meanwhile, has dropped back-to-back fights in the UFC and is unlikely to get a third.

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